Sunday – 23 December 2007
It’s Christmas Eve Eve.
I have two, maybe three, things left to pick up and then it’s all done.

Last night’s breakfast gathering was good. Pat and Brent were both there – I haven’t seen Pat in weeks and I haven’t seen Brent in months, so that was an added bonus. There’s been a bit of turnover at Cheers, too. New managers, new servers… even new menus. I gave out/mailed my Christmas cards this week; I gave

So far today, I have spent time running around the Rogue Isles with Perry. I joined his supergroup and then we spent time gathering beacons for the lair’s teleporter room. Three of them were fairly easy to locate. The last two were… arduous; the last one, in particular, cost me some XP debt. But, we got them. (By the way: , when I joined the supergroup, I changed the colors of Dhoruba’s outfit – black jacket, boots and pants, red t-shirt. He still has the mohawk, though. At least… for now.)

Four-Color Coverage
I haven’t done one of these in a few weeks… it’s time to get back on the horse:

  • Green Lantern #25 and Green Lantern Corps #19 – These issues wrapped up the Sinestro Corps War and shed a little – very little – more light on the “Blackest Night” prophecy. It also introduced four other Corps – as we already have seen Green (GLs), Yellow (Sinestro Corps) and Violet (Star Sapphires) – who will apparently be integral to the advent of the prophecy.
  • Justice League of America #15 and #16 – Issue #15 saw the climactic battle between the JLA and the Injustice League, starting with Firestorm taking on the IL… alone.

    Firestorm: I have to admit, this looks pretty bad. I just got out of the hospital, I’m outnumbered, you guys are the frickin’ Legion of Doom… but I do have an ace up my sleeve.
    Killer Frost: Shut up and die.
    Firestorm: In a minute. I’m talking here. I was trying to tell you about my ace. When I first snuck in here, I slipped Batman a ballpoint pen. I was about to turn it into a lockpick, when I noticed Luthor about to cut Superman’s throat.
    Batman: Don’t bother — with a ballpoint pen, I can pick the locks at Fort Knox.
    *begin smackdown*

    Another couple of gems can be found in the fight between Black Canary and Giganta:

    Giganta: Hey, Canary? Nice moves on Shadow Thief. Want to go a few rounds with me?
    Black Canary: You’re a little out of my weight class, Giganta. Although, if you went a little easier on the pastry, you could drop a few pounds. *uses her “Canary Cry,” focused on Giganta’s ears*
    *Giganta falls, unconscious*
    Black Canary: One other thing. If you have to wear a dress in battle? Get some underpants. Or at least learn to sit like a lady.

    …and in Batman’s ‘decision’ that Firestorm join the JLA…

    Black Lightning: Nice work today. If you ever need the League’s help on anything, just ask.
    Batman: I was thinking more along the lines of him joining the team.
    Firestorm: Oh. Uh, I’m honored, of course, but I really don’t have time right now to– *cut off by Batman*
    Batman: That wasn’t an offer, son. It’s the way it’s going to be. You’re too powerful to be out there unsupervised. *walks away*
    Black Lightning: And the Bat-God has spoken.

    Throw in an appearance by Amanda Waller and Task Force X/Suicide Squad and you have a solid issue, chock full of goodies.

    Issue #16 brings a couple of characters from the Tangent Universe into the mainstream DCU. Again. Black Canary, Green Lantern and Red Arrow meet the TU’s Atom. And, as usually happens when heroes meet… there’s a fight.

  • Justice Society of America #11 – The Kingdom Come Superman gets checked out by the JLA and JSA. The Flashes of both teams confirm that the multiverse has returned. And the JSA takes on a new member.
  • The Mighty Avengers #6 – The end of the latest Ultron battle. Ares takes the fight to Ultron… in a rather unexpected manner… just as the Sentry comes unglued (again), and tries to take on Ultron himself. I’d love to tell you one of the great bits of dialogue between Reed Richards and an Avenger, but it would give away part of the battle’s climax. You lose.
  • Superman #671 – This issue begins “The Insect Queen” storyline, featuring Lana Lang. I’m not sure if it’s leading up to what I think it is… but long-time Legion fans will recognize the name. There’s a reference to North Carolina in the book, but it’s a little “off.” (Kudos for the effort, though.) And what happens when your six-year-old Kryptonian foster son gets heartburn? Lois is about to find out.
  • Superman/Batman #44 – During the filming of a Batman-Superman movie, Livewire shows up to hold one of the actors for ransom. Too bad the real World’s Finest team were nearby watching the production. Through an odd series of events, Superman (the real one) winds up getting tagged with a lot of Kryptonite shards, including a bit to the eye. Batman brings his favorite field medic, Alfred, to the Fortress of Solitude to patch Superman up:

    Alfred: You try scraping meteoric shrapnel from alien skin an a meat freezer.
    Batman: Rest easy, Clark. I brought you the steadiest hands I know. He’s pulled worse pieces of worse things out of me many times.
    Alfred: You might want to consider raising the heat from time to time, Master Clark. Possibly stock the pantry with some nibbles. Just because you want for no human comforts doesn’t mean your guests won’t. Oh, and you’ll live, by the by. *packs up his medical kit*
    Superman: Is he… angry with me?
    Batman: It’s just his way. Alfred–
    Alfred: I know you tend to heal faster and with more finality than my usual patient, Master Clark. But, do make an effort not to fire any lasers from that eye for a few days. The cornea took a thrashing.

    And, with that, the two decide to rid Earth of Kryptonite. All of it. Too bad there’s a LOT more of it than they thought.

  • Tales of the Green Lantern Corps – Ion #1 – The passing of the proverbial – and literal – torch. This story sees Kyle Rayner, the GL formerly known as Ion, having a chat with Sodom Yat, the new host to the Ion entity. This issue provided a good look at Sodom Yat’s background as well as giving Kyle a chance to pass on a little bit of “I’ve been where you’re going” knowledge to Sodom. And, we find out what Kyle’s new role in the Corps will be.
  • Wonder Woman #14 and #15 – These are the first issues of Gail Simone’s run on the title. And they are good. Very good. “I wish she’d been writing the book since the reboot” good. In fact, here’s Ms. Simone’s take on “who” and “what” Wonder Woman is:

    The book is about the best goddamned warrior planet Earth has ever known, and she happens to carry a mystical arsenal around just for the hell of it.If a writer can’t make that interesting and fun, they really shouldn’t be writing superheroes.

    There are layers upon layers of the character, and we’ll get to them all. But let’s just make it very clear that Diana is the premiere asskicker in the DCU, period. Batman and Superman have other things that make them special. Diana is the one who occasionally carries an axe if someone gives her lip.

    This is actually in my first issue, but the quote is, “When a giant robot attacks Metropolis, send Superman. An alien attack? Get Green Lantern. When a car is hijacked by an escaped loony, turn on the bat signal, by all means. But if an ARMY shows up on your doorstep, that’s when you call in Wonder Woman.

    Simple.

    Yep. That pretty much sums it up. And she’s right. AND… she’s writing it well. I look forward to reading more issues of this book.

Time to get “…right on to the friction of the day.”

Namaste.